Everyday cues of belonging
How subtle signals in public space shape healthy, inclusive neighbourhoods
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23312446 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jodie Freeman (0009-0005-6901-5088, corresponding author), Rosa Emilia Henn, Annika Frahsa (0000-0002-0207-3989, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Pages | 100449 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Wellbeing Space and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2666-5581 • E-ISSN: 2666-5581 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.wss.2026.100449 |
| OpenAlex | W7171527209 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 24 |
This study examines how everyday interactions in public spaces shape belonging, social cohesion, and health equity in Holligen, a culturally diverse neighbourhood in Bern, Switzerland. Drawing on focused ethnographic observation and brief in-situ interviews, we identify subtle indicators of inclusion and exclusion: small visual, behavioural, spatial, and affective cues through which residents come to feel recognised, entitled to participate, or marginalised. The findings show that social cohesion is asymmetrical. While parks, playgrounds, food events, and community spaces enabled co-presence and everyday cross-cultural recognition, interaction often remained clustered by language, generation, and familiarity. Exclusion was produced not only through physical barriers, but also through cultural meanings attached to place, linguistic norms, and informal gatekeeping within community networks. We argue that health equity depends not only on access to public space, but also on whether spaces are emotionally legible, symbolically welcoming, and socially navigable. Methodologically, the study demonstrates the value of ethnography for making visible the everyday cues of belonging that are often missed by access-based urban health metrics.
Everyday life · Perception · Perspective (graphical) · Public space · Space (punctuation) · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Place Attachment and Urban Studies · Urban Planning and Governance
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |